For all of you guys that been through dead transmissions with the RX, are there any signs prior to the failure or do it just die out of nowhere? Mine is at 125k and i'm kinda worried about it.

My wife drives our RX300 and is getting worried about the transmission failing. For her a warning sign is the transmission not shifting up or down - kind of hangs especially when climbing a mountain pass and when having reached the top it waits for a "long" time before shifting into a higher gear. I have noticed this too and help it along by letting up on the gas which then seems to get it to change gears. Not sure if this is a warning sign of pending failure but would like to know what others here think about this.

Thanks in advance.

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My wife drives our RX300 and is getting worried about the transmission failing. For her a warning sign is the transmission not shifting up or down - kind of hangs especially when climbing a mountain pass and when having reached the top it waits for a "long" time before shifting into a higher gear. I have noticed this too and help it along by letting up on the gas which then seems to get it to change gears. Not sure if this is a warning sign of pending failure but would like to know what others here think about this.

Thanks in advance.

That is what you want it to do. That's the "smarts" of the system. It's referred to as "grade logic", it's holding the gear so you have power!

The reason it shifts when you let off the throttle is because that is how the transmission is programmed. It will upshift upon release of throttle.

It seems to me one has a choice when to repair a leaking rear main seal (RMS). At the moment it is a very slow leak.

Most of the use of the car is to traverse a mountain pass (5,000 feet). My wife wants to be safe. As far as I know this seal does not fail catastrophically. Rather the oil & or transmission fluid slowly leaks but the leak increases with time.

A quart of oil leaking every 5,000 miles may be one tipping point for when to finally repair the RMS.

How does the leakage increase with time? Does it take months or years to reach my 5,000 mile criteria? Anybody know?

It seems to me one has a choice when to repair a leaking rear main seal (RMS). At the moment it is a very slow leak.

Most of the use of the car is to traverse a mountain pass (5,000 feet). My wife wants to be safe. As far as I know this seal does not fail catastrophically. Rather the oil & or transmission fluid slowly leaks but the leak increases with time.

A quart of oil leaking every 5,000 miles may be one tipping point for when to finally repair the RMS.

How does the leakage increase with time? Does it take months or years to reach my 5,000 mile criteria? Anybody know?

Thanks

Generally a RMS leak doesn't increase rapidly.

I don't think it would leak enough to go through a quart every 5,000 miles. The engine may burn 1k quart of oil in 5k miles, but leaking that much through a RMS leak isn't very likely.

For instance, my Honda Accord has had a RMS leak since 160k miles, it's now at 227k miles and the leak hasn't gotten worse. I don't add a drop of oil during my 7,500 mile oil change interval. I'm getting rid of the car tomorrow, bought it for $200, likely going to sell it for $700! Sounds good to me!

Signs? Yep, metal specs in the tranny pan. Self destruction of planetary gear carrier, I smell Q.C. and specification/tolerance issues here, as a retired Q.A. manager. Lexus will never admit to that. My 2000 RX AWD blew at around 140,000 miles. $3,500 with a lifetime warranty as long as I get it serviced at the same shop once a year. I've caught so many bad parts from subs. You can't check every part in every incoming component shipment. But you can admit the truth, and cut off a vendor.

I have asked this question many times, but there has been no consistent answer.

Back in '98 what would have been the expected life of a transmission without a need of an overhaul? Keep in mind the manufacturer gives you a warranty of say 60K miles and for 1500-2000 an additional warranty of up to 100K miles.

My recollection is that 100k of trouble free miles was the expectation. Toyota/Lexus engines could last upto 250k miles but anything above 150K was considered bonus miles. A/C system was again expected to last 100K miles.

My Honda Accord has had a RMS leak since 160k miles, it's now at 227k miles and the leak hasn't gotten worse. I don't add a drop of oil during my 7,500 mile oil change interval.

Thanks. This is about what I would have expected.

I remember back in the 1960s how cars often had seal leaks. I worked in a car garage for a couple of years in high school and every car when looking at the underside on a hoist was a mess of dark oil and grease from leaking seals. The owners just kept adding make-up oil. The only seals I saw replaced were those for the valve covers - an easy job. These days we expect perfection or want no oil smell in our garages. We don't like the "dirt." Well, I am willing to live with a piece of cardboard on the garage floor underneath the Lexus to deal with any "dirt" and save myself $1600 in the process.

My cost this summer was a little over 4000. I chose to fix and drive to the ground. I now have the slip indicator light coming on, not related to trans. I will be working on the reluctor ring this summer. Good luck with your Lexus, there not cheap to repair.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EnzoRX

Hi all,

I have a 2001 RX300 Silversport AWD with ~91,000 miles. It is primarily my wife’s Daily Driver.

This morning, while shifting into Reverse, the RX did not move. I pressed down a little more on the accelerator, but it still did not move. I shifted it back into Park, waited a few seconds, and then shifted it into Reverse again. No joy...it still did not move...so I pressed the accelerator a little more and then THUD! It slammed into Reverse and it backed out of the garage. I shifted it into Drive and it started moving forward with no problems and parked it back in my garage. I again put it into Reverse, and it did not move. I gave a press on the accelerator, and once again THUD! It slammed into Reverse and backed up. This time, there were some other mechanical grinding noises accompanying it. Not good. I just put it back into Drive and it went forward with no problems. I then just parked it in the garage and turned off the RX.

Add me to the list of the dead RX300 transmissions syndrome.

I am the original owner and have only used Toyota Type T-IV as my ATF choice with every drain and fill. At ~28,000 miles, I drained and filled the ATF for the first time. I then D&F’d it two more times in 300 mile increments. I have changed the ATF every 10,000 miles or so since then. The front and rear differential fluids have been changed every 12,000 miles or so (using either Mobil1 75W-90 or more recently, Amsoil 75W-90).

I have read on the forums that frequently changing the ATF does not preclude you from your transmission dying on you. I am living proof. I was hoping that I would be lucky enough to dodge this bullet with this preventive maintenance regime…but no, my transmission is probably on its death bed.

I have debated the “Fix it and sell it” or “Fix it and keep it” and I am leaning towards the latter. I will probably drive the RX into the ground once I get another transmission put in. I am now trying to research where to take my RX to get the transmission replaced. Now I am also thinking, what else needs to be replaced since they are ripping out the transmission? Should I also replace the Rear Main Seal? Maybe the dog bone engine mount?

Thank you for the reply. When you say change ATF every 15k miles, how many quarts are you replacing on a change? 4qts or multiple drains to get more quarts or... do you pull the pan? Did you replace the original screen with a filter ? THANKS.

Thank you for the reply. When you say change ATF every 15k miles, how many quarts are you replacing on a change? 4qts or multiple drains to get more quarts or... do you pull the pan? Did you replace the original screen with a filter ? THANKS.

You're welcome!

4 quarts, we don't bother to open the front diff plug which would likely yield another half quart.

I've never dropped my pan. I don't think my uncle has either, but I will have to double check with him.